Bruce Springsteen works his 'Magic' in LA

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band thrilled a sold-out crowd at the Los Angeles Sports Arena last night (October 29), with a mammoth set that included hits, new material and a rare duet.

The Boss led off with 'Radio Nowhere' from his recent album 'Magic', and segued into 'No Surrender' from 'Born In The USA'.

The E Street Band were on top form, keeping the pace throughout the night and eliciting emotional cheers and singalong responses from the audience.

Midway through the set, Springsteen's wife and backup vocalist Patti Scialfa joined her husband for a duet of her own song 'Town Called Heartbreak' from her recent album 'Play It As It Lays'.

Although Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band for 23 years, the current tour is one of the first times they’ve performed one of her songs together at a Springsteen show.

Things turned political when Springsteen introduced his new track 'Livin' In The Future'.

"It's really about living right now," he said before launching into a tirade against War on Terror-era Bush administration policies he sees as attacks on fundamental social freedoms in the United States.

During the band's climactic five-song encore, they played crowd-pleasers 'Born To Run' and 'Dancing In The Dark' as well as a rare fan favourite, their onetime set-closing number 'Thundercrack'.

Springsteen noted that the band also played ‘Thundercrack’ during their very first LA show back in 1973.

“It was our big show-stopper back then. Unfortunately, by the time we played it, the show had pretty much stopped,’ he quipped.

‘But we came back,” he added, to the crowd’s roaring approval.

They played:

'Radio Nowhere'
'No Surrender'
'Lonesome Day'
'Gypsy Biker'
'Magic'
'Reason To Believe'
'Candy's Room'
'She's The One'
'Livin' In The Future'
'The Promised Land'
'Town Called Heartbreak'
'Backstreets'
'Working On The Highway'
'Devil's Arcade'
'The Rising'
'Last To Die'
'Long Walk Home'
'Badlands'
'Girls in Their Summer Clothes'
'Thundercrack'
'Dancing In The Dark'
'American Land'

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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